Tie: Australia v Czech Republic
Date: 3 to 5 February
Tie Time
Day 1 - 8am SGT/5:30am IST/12am GMT
Day 2 - 7am SGT/6:30am IST/1am GMT
Day 3 - 8am SGT/5:30am IST/12am GMT
Competition: Davis Cup, World Group Round 1
Venue: Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Melbourne
TV Channel: StarHub Channel 201 will provide live TV coverage in Singapore.
Live streaming: The matches can be watched online at Tennis Channel Plus. Davis Cup TV
Live updates will be available on tournament's official Twitter handle.
Overview
Tennis action returns to Australia shortly after the end of the 2017 Australian Open, which garnered tremendous interest after legends Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Venus Williams showed glimpses of their vintage self. This time, it will be Davis Cup first round action between the hosts and Czech Republic.
Expect a tight clash as both teams are looking solid on paper. Lleyton Hewitt's Australian team though have the edge as they have Nick Kyrgios, who is only one of the two top-15 players (Novak Djokovic being the other) to be playing first-round Davis Cup ties this year. They also have world number six doubles star John Peers, who is fresh from his Australian Open success.
23-year-old Jordan Thompson, the world number 65, will be opening the hosts' campaign against higher-ranked (54) Jiri Vesely in the first rubber on Friday. The latter is the trump player for the visitors, who have world number 157 Jan Satral playing the second rubber against Kyrgios. The presence of veteran, former top-10 player Radek Stepanek will give the Croats the flexibility to even change the line-up if needed on the final day.
Australia, who were knocked out in the opening round last year, are eyeing to progress to quarter-final, where they will be meeting United States or Switzerland. Hewitt reportedly said Kyrgios' presence will boost their chances of clinching the tie. However, they have to work hard to topple the last year's quarter-finalists, against whom they have a 7-1 head-to-head record in Davis Cup meetings.
TV Schedule
Singapore: Hub Sports 1
Australia: Channel 7
Team News
Australia: Nick Kyrgios (MS - 15), Jordan Thompson (MS - 65), Sam Groth (MD - 47), John Peers (MD - 6)
Czech Republic: Jiri Vesely (MS - 54), Jan Satral (MS - 157), Radel Stepanek (MD - 67), Zdenek Kolar (MD - 246)
Match schedule
Rubber 1
Thompson v Vesely
Rubber 2
Kyrgios v Sartal
Rubber 3
Groth/Peers v Kolar/Stepanek
Rubber 4
Kyrgios v Vesely
Rubber 5
Thompson v Satral
